Blind River Scare are an Americana and Alt/Country band that comes from South Wales. Since 2005 they have released various E.P.s and singles - some with a full band, others with a stripped down acoustic line-up. The 'Point of no Return' E.P. sees the group return to the full band format, currently comprising Tim Manning, the singer songwriter and acoustic guitarist, Chris Tweed on pedal and lap steel guitars, Stuart Loosemore on bass and Keith Boast on drums.
The E.P. consists of six tracks, all falling within the country music genre, but what makes this CD stand out is the quality of some of the lyrics. Opening with the title track, 'The Point Of No Return', right from the start you realise that something's a bit different with the way that the band approaches its material.
This is a song that follows the country tradition of leaving and starting again, but here the band turns it on it's head, as in this case the family is leaving together, to an uncertain future: - “I've got my girlfriend and two young kids sat in the front of a hire truck/ They call me dad, but only one is mine/ And the other's from time she spent with another man.”
Following this is possibly my favourite track on the E.P., the rather wonderful 'Could I Be a Different Man', which features some excellent steel guitar and shows how Gram Parsons' influence still looms large within the Country music scene forty one years after his death. This song takes on the themes of regret and some serious soul searching: - “I carry baggage that breaks me, Forces me to a bended knee/ It's not forgiveness that I seek, Or the voice of reason to speak.”
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Another track on the E.P. which stands out, is the lazy, laid back country sound of 'The Damage Is Done', which again looks at things in retrospect, however this from a judgemental point of view: - “Soaked to the skin, there's no longer any need to run/Or shelter in doorways, the damage is done/ You had a good life, you betrayed then realised/ That there's no going back when the damage is done.”
Overall, this is a fine E.P., and if the best tracks here are used on an album in the near future, then that could make for some interesting listening.
Blind River Scare Bandcamp page
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